Hamilton disqualified as Verstappen reaches 50 F1 wins

The Dutch driver's win followed a drive where he had to climb through the order against rivals much closer in pace to Red Bull than usual. In another race devoid of safety cars, virtual safety cars, or even a yellow flag, Verstappen had to do it the old-fashioned way in Texas.

Yet the drama at the Circuit of the Americas continued long after the last lap, with the stewards investigating the front-running cars.

Podium-finishing Lewis Hamilton and pole-sitting Charles Leclerc had their afternoon's work in jeopardy thanks to the skid planks under their floor wearing too thin. Four hours after the podium celebrations, the stewards announced that both cars were disqualified for the technical breach, advancing their competitors into higher points-paying positions.

Hamilton's compatriot Lando Norris was the primary beneficiary, netting yet another P2 finish for his 2023 season after running in second for much of the race. Carlos Sainz also inherited a podium finish, the third time the Spaniard has claimed silverware after post-race alterations. And a rare moment of solace for Logan Sargeant, whose ailing season finally came good as the two Williams cars jumped into the top-10 positions to make the American score his first F1 points at his home race.

With Hamilton out of the way, the scrap for the lead instead switched to Norris vs Verstappen. The two have duelled before, but this was the first genuine fight for first that would realistically see either driver lift the winner's trophy. However, Pirelli's hard compound tyre seemed to fire up better on the Red Bull, and Verstappen crept up to the McLaren's rear wing by the race's halfway point. A dive down the inside of Turn 12 was all it took for the lead to change hands, despite Norris trying in vain to fight back on the outside of Turn 13.

Considerations of a one-stop strategy might've floated along the McLaren and Mercedes pit wall to outflank the mighty Red Bull, but they didn't come to fruition. Norris again pitted first of the leaders, but any undercut hopes didn't come off, with Verstappen emerging two seconds ahead when he exited the pits from his second stop. Hamilton was the final one of the three to switch to his third set of Pirellis but was now six seconds adrift of Norris.

Nonetheless, the slight tyre advantage for Hamilton had the race come to him in the closing laps. He had to make an on-track overtake of Leclerc, the one driver who did try a one-stop strategy, but Norris was his primary concern. The two Brits eventually converged with eight laps remaining, and Norris showed how much he wanted to keep P2 with a defensive move on the run to Turn 1 that had Hamilton needing to back out of his attack. However, the compromised entry for Norris allowed Hamilton to exit the corner with more traction to retake P2 as the pair approached the twisty esses section of the track.

Any heartbreak of losing second place for Norris would be short-lived, though. Hamilton's subsequent disqualification rendered his drive void, promoting Norris back to P2. Leclerc's one-stop race had him eventually fall behind Sainz and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull on his heavily used rubber, crossing the line in P6 before his disqualification, too.

Whether getting nothing from a P2 finish or a pole position is worse is debatable, but both will look to immediately bounce back this weekend when Formula One returns for the second part of its tripleheader.